


how sweet it is (to be loved by you)

by flintrage



Category: Stardew Valley (Video Game)
Genre: Also written at 3am in a rush so don't @ me, Cuddles, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/F, Fluff, Sort of? It's not angsty it's just Maru having self-doubts, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Written for Tumblr but I'm crossposting it here for funsies, talking about feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-27
Updated: 2020-05-27
Packaged: 2021-03-03 05:14:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 533
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24399349
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flintrage/pseuds/flintrage
Summary: Maru has always been a private person. Expressing her feelings openly, especially where they concern other people, has never come naturally to her. Meanwhile, Penny is one of the most openly loving, expressive people she knows- and it makes her worry that she isn't doing enough to remind Penny she loves her just as much.
Relationships: Maru/Penny (Stardew Valley)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 35





	how sweet it is (to be loved by you)

**Author's Note:**

> This is just a cute little one-shot, but I hope you enjoy it. Dialogue is in italics because my 3AM writing style tends to gravitate towards not using quotation marks as a stylistic/narrative choice, but I know that can be hard to read or follow for some folks so italics was a compromise between the two.

Maru is a private sort of person. She always has been. Dad sometimes tells her with no small amount of fondness that when she was a young teen, he never knew what was going through her head, what she wanted or didn’t want. She simply never talked about it. She’s still that way now, if she’s honest- not from fear or shame or self-consciousness but because the habit’s so ingrained that removing it now would feel like trying to peel off her shadow. 

So it baffles her, sometimes, that Penny–who is shy and quiet and so many other things Maru isn’t but _loves_ people, faults and all, and has dedicated her life to helping them understand the world–loves her. _Loves_ her, and isn’t afraid to tell her so. Maru can be reticent: she gets too lost in her robotics and grand ideas to think of anything else. Why Penny doesn’t hold that against her, she doesn’t know.

 _Doesn’t it bother you?_ she’d asked once, as they lay together in Maru’s bed, legs tangled together and Penny’s nose in Maru’s hair. _You always do cute little things for me. Like leaving me flowers, or little sticky notes, or just… saying the L-word. I feel like I don’t do enough of that for you._

She’d waited, holding her breath and dreading the moment where Penny would agree. But Penny just smiled into her hair and shook her head, and her fingertips traced senseless patterns up and down Maru’s spine as she formulated her answer.

_Do you think I haven’t noticed you show your love in other ways? It’s one of the things I love so much about you._

_But…_

_I’m not finished! I love **you** , Maru. I mean… if you want to say I love you more often, or do something nice for me every now and then… That’s okay too. But you don’t have to change for me. That’s the last thing I’d want. I don’t ever want to make anyone feel like they have to make themselves smaller to make me happy._

I don’t deserve you, Maru thought. But she knew what Penny would say to that and that she’d be right, so instead she just hid her face in Penny’s neck. 

_I just worry,_ Maru whispered. _I don’t ever want you to feel like you’re not enough, or that I don’t love you. I don’t want to be distant, or aloof, or… Uh, any of the other things that I usually am. You know?_

 _I do know,_ said Penny. _And I appreciate it. I really do. I think… I think if I didn’t feel loved, I would be able to tell you. I trust you. I wouldn’t be scared that you’d get upset with me for it, or say it was my own fault._

_Pen, I would literally rather lick a live wire than say something like that to you._

_I know!_ Penny was laughing. _And that’s why I trust you!_

 _Because of my willingness to violently electrocute myself rather than do you harm?_ Maru leaned back just enough to grin at her, dark eyes alight. Penny gazed back at her with immeasurable affection.

 _Absolutely,_ she giggled, and kissed her.


End file.
